Territorial A-Z

Journey from Massachusetts to KansasAuthors:Allen, Chestina BowkerDate: October 17, 1854 - April 22, 1858Chestina Bowker Allen traveled to Kansas Territory from Roxbury, Massachusetts, with her husband Asahel Gilbert Allen and five children--William, Charles, Henrietta, John, and Abbie. Apparently, they were members of the third company sent by the New England Emigrant Aid Company and began the journey to Kansas Territory in October, 1854. While the title indicated it recorded the journey to the territory, it actually documented their first three years in Kansas Territory. Mrs. Allen described their journey west with stops in Kansas City and Lawrence. They eventually settled near Rock Creek in Pottawatomie County. She wrote about many of her daily activities including assisting neighbors when ill. She mentioned a cholera epidemic in the area in 1855. She wrote about various rumors and encounters with free state supporters (which the Allen family was) and proslavery groups. She provided a great deal of information about living conditions and the price and availability of various goods. She wrote about her husband and older sons going to various communities to work and also about people that visited their home and those who boarded with them. She provided fairly stereotypical descriptions of Native Americans.The document appeared to be recopied from an original diary and included some penciled in corrections and a few annotations from a later time.

Keywords:Diseases; Hill, Hiram; Missouri River; Sickness (see Illness); Steamboats; Transportation; Travel; Water transportationLetter, H. Hill to Dear BrotherAuthors:Hill, Hiram Date: May 13, 1855After arriving in Kansas City by steamboat, Hiram Hill wrote to his brother. En route, four men had died of cholera while others continued to drink and play cards nearby. Disease fatalities were common, Hill reported. He speculated that the river water, which passengers drank, was contaminated with disease from the rich prairie soil. Hill described life at the Winedot [sic] Indian Reservation (beginning at the bottom of page 2) where he met the "prinsable chiefe" and saw the governor's sister. Hill related news concerning Mr. Putnam, Mr. Tomas, Mr. Gague, Mr. Jay, Mr. Partridge, Mr. Whitman, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Fuller and others. He was skeptical that these men would permanently settle in Kansas Territory. Hill also described Kansas City, which he thought would improve under "yankee," rather than "slave holder," management. (Hill's final destination was Lawrence, where he acquired town lots through quit claims not included in this online project.)

The current URL is http://www.territorialkansasonline.org/~imlskto/cgi-bin/index.php?SCREEN=keyword&selected_keyword=Diseases&sort_by=true&submit=Go&allresults=1.
This file was last modified September 12 2013 04:09:26 PM.